Deployable Structure Shield

ABSTRACT

A readily deployable shield for single family dwellings and other structures protects the structures from transient, temporary threats such as fire, hurricane, tornado or similar forces. The deployable structure shield is delivered to a structure site in an enclosed shield module. The enclosed shield module may be permanently or temporarily secured to the roof of the structure to be protected. The shield module includes the shield canopy, an energy generator, a compressor, control electronics, one or more deployment catapults, sandbags, lanyards, tie-down straps, and a manual deployment apparatus. Once secured to the roof of a structure, the shield canopy may be deployed manually with the manual deployment apparatus, or remotely using the control electronics and any suitable initiation apparatus such as a smartphone.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to copending U.S. Provisional patent application 61/653,094 filed May 30, 2012.

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS

The inventions described below relate to the field of structure protection and more specifically to the field of deployable shields for the protection of structures from temporary threats such as hurricane, tornado and or fire.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONS

Temporary covers for structures such as tents for covering houses have been uses for various applications such as termite fumigation and asbestos abatement.

SUMMARY

The devices and methods described below provide a readily deployable structure shield for single family dwellings and other structures to protect the structures from transient, temporary threats such as fire, hurricane, tornado or similar forces. The deployable structure shield is delivered to a structure site in an enclosed shield module. The enclosed shield module may be permanently or temporarily secured to the roof of the structure to be protected. The shield module includes the shield canopy, an energy generator, a compressor, control electronics, one or more deployment catapults, sandbags, lanyards, tie-down straps, and a manual deployment apparatus. Once secured to the roof of a structure, the shield canopy may be deployed manually with the manual deployment apparatus, or remotely using the control electronics and any suitable initiation apparatus such as a smartphone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a shield module secured to the roof of a structure.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a shield module showing the contents.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a fully deployed structure shield.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of the shield module of FIG. 1

FIG. 5 is a close-up view of the securing mechanism of the canopy to the shield module.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a deployment catapult within a shield module.

FIG. 7 is a view of the tie down details of a canopy corner.

FIG. 8 is a view of an alternate tie down detail of a canopy corner.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the canopy and tie-down secured to an anchor.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an alternate shield module configuration.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the shield module of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the shield module of FIG. 10 with two module doors removed and one module door opened.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONS

Structure 1 of FIGS. 1 and 3 is to be protected by a structure shield 9 including shield module 10 installed on roof 2. Shield module 10 includes a plurality of doors 10A through 10H to enclose shield canopy 11 and control module 16. Shield canopy 11 is unrolled from inside the shield module and it may be formed of any suitably resilient material such as those in the class of para-aramid synthetic fibers of which Kevlar® is an example. Shield canopy may alternatively be inflatable and FIG. 3 illustrates canopy 11 fully deployed, secured and inflated on structure 1.

Shield module 10 includes all necessary systems in control module 16 to monitor, deploy and inflate shield canopy 11 automatically. Generator 12, control electronics 13, storage battery or batteries 14, shield canopy 11 and any suitable inflation mechanism such as air compressor 15 are all interconnected and stored within shield module 10 as shown in FIG. 2. Control electronics 13 monitor the environment around the shield module as well as the condition of the control module components and one or more command and control frequencies for remote deployment.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 6, shield module 10 also includes one or more mechanisms for deploying the shield deployment lines beyond the edges of the structure roof. Suitable deployment mechanisms may include compressed liquid or gas propelled cannons, explosive propelled cannons, any suitable thrower, catapult or trebuchet such as deployment catapult 20 to propel deployment lines 22 beyond the edges of the structure roof. The weighted projectile 21 is attached to deployment line 22 which is in turn connected to shield canopy 11. Projection of sandbag 21 beyond the edge of the roof permits the sandbag to drop to the ground which brings line 22 along. A user may pull line 22 to deploy shield 11 beyond the roof edge.

Referring now to FIG. 5, shield canopy 11 is removably secured to shield module 10 using any suitable replaceable connector apparatus such as apparatus 30 which uses a plurality of rods and pins 32 to removably secure the canopy to the shield module. Upon deployment of the canopy, inflation lines such as line 35 may conduct air or other suitable liquid or gas into canopy 11 to inflate the canopy for use. After the emergency has passed, disconnection of inflation lines from the canopy permits deflation of the canopy. Removal of rods and pins 32 permits canopy 11 to be removed from the structure for repair and refolding as necessary.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 7, canopy edge or perimeter 11P is extended over the roof of structure 1 and must be secured to one or more anchors such as anchors 52A, 52B, 52C and 52D which are secured within the ground surrounding the structure. Anchors such as anchor 52A may be permanently installed concrete reinforced or straight or spiral stakes that are secured to the ground as the canopy is being deployed. First canopy edge 11A is secured using straps 17A and 17B, and second canopy edge 11B is secured using straps 17C and 17D. At corners of a structure several suitable techniques may be used to secure the corners of the canopy to the available anchors. In FIG. 5, first corner securing technique uses only two of the available anchors to secure the corners. Straps 17D and 17B are secured to anchor 52B and straps 17A and 17C are secured to anchor 52C.

In FIG. 8, second corner securing technique uses four anchors to secure the corner elements. Strap 17A is secured to anchor 52C, strap 17B is secured to anchor 52A, strap 17C is secured to anchor 52D and strap 17D is secured to anchor 52B.

Referring now to FIG. 9, upon deployment of canopy 11, straps such as strap 17B are secured to anchors such as anchor 52A. Straps 17 may adapt any suitable technique for tightening and securing such as buckles, ratchets and or hook and loop facets.

Shield module 40 is configured as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 with skids 41 and 42 oriented for accommodating a roof peak 3 between the skids as shown. Doors 43A, 43B, 43C, 43D, 43E, 43F, 43G and 43H have at least two panels such as side panel 44 and top panel 45 of door 43B. Control module 46 may adopt any suitable configuration such as illustrated. Monitor mast 46A provides weather information and may also provide antenna services for sending and receiving information pertinent to a decision to open the doors and deploy the shield canopy.

In FIG. 12, shield module 40 is illustrated with door 43B opened and doors 43A and 43C removed to expose canopy storage space 47. A shield canopy such as canopy 11 may be folded and arranged within storage space 47. Deployment or opening of the doors creates an extended platform from door panels such as panels 44 and 45 as shown.

In use, a structure shield such as shield module 10 is located or secured to the roof of a structure such as structure 1 of FIG. 1. In the event of an emergency, control module 16 initiates opening of the module doors such as door 10 to permit deployment of shield canopy 11. The shield deployment mechanisms are then activated to extend deployment lines to the ground around structure 1. Deployment lines are used to pull the perimeter of shield canopy 11 beyond the edges of the roof of the structure. Canopy straps such as straps 17A and 17B are used to secure the canopy to anchors such as anchor 25A secured in the ground around the structure. For non-inflatable shield canopies, securing the straps to the anchors completes enveloping and shielding the structure. Upon securing, or just prior to securing all the straps to anchors, control module may begin inflating shield canopy if the canopy is inflatable. Inflation of the shield canopy completes envelopment and shielding of structure 1 for inflatable shield canopies.

While the preferred embodiments of the devices and methods have been described in reference to the environment in which they were developed, they are merely illustrative of the principles of the inventions. The elements of the various embodiments may be incorporated into each of the other species to obtain the benefits of those elements in combination with such other species, and the various beneficial features may be employed in embodiments alone or in combination with each other. Other embodiments and configurations may be devised without departing from the spirit of the inventions and the scope of the appended claims. 

We claim:
 1. A structure shield for enclosing and shielding a structure with a perimeter comprising: a shield module having a plurality of doors enclosing a storage space; a shield canopy secured to the shield module, the shield canopy having a perimeter, and sized to enclose the structure, the shield canopy folds to be stored within the storage space; a plurality of deployment lines and securing straps attached to the perimeter of the shield canopy; one or more means for deployment, the means for deployment projecting the deployment lines beyond the perimeter of the structure; and a control module to monitor and deploy the shield canopy automatically.
 2. The structure shield of claim 1 wherein the shield canopy is inflatable and the control module includes a suitable mechanism to inflate the shield canopy and controls inflation of the shield canopy.
 3. A method for enclosing and shielding a roofed structure comprising the steps: locating a shield module on the roof of the structure, the shield module having a plurality of doors enclosing a storage space with a shield canopy and a control module within; opening the doors of the shield module; extending a plurality of deployment lines connected to the shield canopy over the roof of the structure to extend to the ground; using the deployment lines to extend the shield canopy to enclose the structure; securing a plurality of securing straps to anchors surrounding the structure to secure the shield canopy around the structure.
 4. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step: inflating the shield canopy during the securing step.
 5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step: inflating the shield canopy following the securing step. 